If the thought of Aruba conjures up images of the palm-lined, sandy white beaches featured in Caribbean travel brochures, glitzy casinos and great shopping, you're not alone. Most first- time visitors to Aruba are attracted to the island for just those reasons. Sunny skies, cool breezes, and water temperatures averaging a fabulous 80° are ideal for the beach.

Located in the westernmost reaches of the Caribbean, Grand Cayman is about 180 miles west of Jamaica and 150 miles south of Cuba. It spans 76 square miles, approximately 22 miles long and eight miles at its widest point. The Sister Islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are 80 miles east-northeast of Grand Cayman and are separated from each other by seven miles of ocean. Cayman Brac covers about 14 square miles and Little Cayman, 10 square miles.

The islands have many small hotels to suit your individual desires.

The Mexican island of Cozumel is especially known for its exceptionally clear, 150-foot visibility, and for its effortless drift diving. Cozumel's reefs offer incredible drop-offs, pinnacles, and interconnecting caves and tunnels. It's beaches vary from scalloped bays and inlets to wide wind-swept swathes of powdery sand.

Restaurants and gift shops jostle each other for space along the pedestrian walkway part of 5th Avenue (as even many locals call Avenida Cinco).